Dubbed the ‘yeah-nah Budget’ for Māori by members of the Opposition, the Government’s announcement yesterday has attracted strong criticism over the cuts made to Māori-focused initiatives and pay equity claims.
While Māori education received a boost of $54 million in operational funding and an additional $50 million in capital funding to support Māori learner success, and $14 million has been allocated to Māori Wardens, Pasifika Wardens, and the Māori Women’s Welfare League, there was little else to show.
But Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka told TVNZ’s Te Karere that the Budget reflects the Government’s focus on growing the economy, and investing in health, education and law and order.
When asked what targeted Māori spending existed in the Budget, he pointed to the Māori Wardens and Māori Women’s Welfare League.
“Heoi anō ko te nuinga o ngā putea me te mātotorutanga o ngā putea ka whakapaua ki ngā mahi hauora, ki ngā mahi mātauranga, ērā momo āhuatanga. Mā tēnā hoki e taea ai te kī kua ora tātou ngā iwi Māori me ngā iwi katoa.”
(“However, most of the money has gone to health and education, those kinds of things. In that way you can say Māori and non-Māori benefit.”)
Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday fielded a question on funding for Māori initiatives and rejected the characterisation by a reporter that $750 million was stripped from Māori initiatives to put into the general pool of funds.
“This is a Budget that is good for Māori because this is a Gudget that has seen job creation, income growth, more opportunities for Māori,” Willis said.
“What you see in this budget are specific initiatives that will specifically benefit Māori including more than $700 million for Māori health services; including a major education package targeted at Māori learners; including funding for the Māori Women’s Welfare League, for Māori Wardens; and including funding for the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.”
Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust will receive $4.1 million over four years to help with ICT costs, administration and develop data capability.
Willis said funding that was previously ring-fenced for Māori housing will now go into a “flexible housing fund” which she expects will lead to Māori-led housing development to deliver for whānau Māori.
Opposition response
Labour Party’s Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said the Government has slashed funding to more Māori programmes in this year’s Budget.
“In Budget 2024 more than $300 million was cut from Māori-specific initiatives – Te Arawhiti, The Māori Health Authority, and Māori TV. Budget 2025 cuts even deeper with around $750 million cut from Māori housing, Māori economic funds, Māori education and programmes like Māori trades training.”
He said the Government has turned its back on the Māori-Crown relationship.
Speaking ahead of the Budget announcement, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said Māori should not be surprised to see the Budget match what “we’ve already seen” from the Government.
“There’s going to be nothing that is going to recognise Te Tiriti, that is going to uphold the rights and interests of us as tangata whenua, that is going to address the inequities that are created because of the breaches of Te Tiriti.”
Green MP Teanau Tuiono slammed the Government for taking money from pay equity claims to fund tax cuts.
“Me kaha ki te tiro ki te katoa o te horopaki o tēnei kāwanatanga, rātou e kaha te hoatu ngā pūtea ki wiwi ki wawa engari wareware katoa rātou ki ngā ringa raupā, ngā ringawera, ngā kaimahi.”
(“You need to take everything into account when it comes to this Government, they are quick to divvy out funds all over the place but completely forget about the hardworking frontline workers.”)
Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp questioned why more money was going into Defence when there was a cost-of-living crisis where whānau can’t afford basic necessities.
“This to us is a ‘budget Budget’, a ‘yeah-nah Budget’, there’s nothing in it for us as Māori,” she said.
The Māori Development Minister defended the Budget against critics, saying they were delivering on their election promises.
Kura Kaupapa Māori reacts
The national body for kura kaupapa Māori, Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, said it was concerned and disappointed with the Government’s Budget announcement saying it ignores the longstanding and well-documented underfunding of kura kaupapa Māori.
Rāwiri Wright, co-chair of Te Rūnanga Nui, said the $50 million in capital funding tagged to upgrade buildings was not a genuine solution.
“It’s yet another example of the Crown’s ongoing failure to prioritise kura kaupapa Māori.”
The group said there were close to 40 kura kaupapa Māori that remain on the Minister of Education’s property backlog list, and dividing the “limited funding” across all Māori-medium settings, which included Māori immersion units in mainstream schools, will leave kura with “next to nothing”.
“We are being kept in the dark,” said Wright. “There is no clear breakdown of how this funding will be allocated, no equity in the process, and certainly no commitment to a genuine Treaty-based partnership. Meanwhile, our whānau continue to send their tamariki to kura that are falling apart.”
Te Rūnanga Nui are calling for an investment plan of $1.25 billion over five years dedicated to property development.